Student Induction Student Representation LEEDS BECKETT UNIVERSITY Student Induction Student Representation Quality Assurance Services This podcast (if for a recording)/ development (if face-to-face) session will outline University expectations in relation to student induction and will look at what we mean by student representation. We recognise that you are likely to be very familiar with developing and delivering induction programmes, nonetheless, as a franchise partner we would expect any induction programme to incorporate a ‘Leedsbeckettness’; to ensure students are aware of their entitlements as a Leeds Beckett student, relevant regulations that determine how to succeed on a Leeds Beckett course and the opportunities available to them to fulfil their role as a learning partner.

Context “We want to put students at the heart of everything we do at QAA, to help you to be active participants in shaping your own education. For us, student engagement is about giving all students the opportunity and encouragement to get involved in quality assurance and the enhancement of higher education”. Quality Assurance Agency “Putting students at the centre of our activities and providing a flexible and relevant curriculum with excellent teaching and learning”, Theme 1, The Strategic Plan 1. Across the UK higher education sector, there is increasing importance placed on the role of the student, whereby students are seen as ‘learning partners’, benefiting from the opportunity to shape their own educational experience through engaging with quality assurance and enhancement processes. 2. The University’s Strategic Plan details our vision and values. It sets out our intentions for the next few years and defines a number of time bound KPIs against which we can measure our performance. Students are at the heart of all activity here at Leeds Beckett as described in the first theme of the University’s Strategic Plan: ‘Putting students at the centre of our activities and providing a flexible and relevant curriculum with excellent teaching and learning.’ This statement applies as much to our collaborative students as it does to students based onsite. 3. Student induction and student representation are key enabling mechanisms, ensuring students have the opportunity to get involved, to feedback, to direct their own learning experiences.

Focus of development session Students Induction Entitlements Engagement Representation We will focus on four key themes: Student Induction Student Entitlements Student Representation Student Engagement

Student Induction To welcome students to the institution and to assist the transition of students into higher education or onto the next level of study Partner responsible for devising student induction programme University support through the Link Tutor / Franchise Coordinator We will begin with looking in more detail at student induction: The overarching purpose of a student induction programme is, ‘ to welcome students to the institution and to assist the transition into higher education or onto the next level of higher education study’. In the context of a franchise arrangement, the partner is responsible for planning and delivering the induction programme. Although an expectation of the Franchise Framework is that the University will support, as a minimum the first induction cycle of induction programmes. This may be remotely but equally the University acknowledges that students enjoy meeting UK based teaching staff. Moreover, a visit to support the student induction programme could be combined with other activity for example, the delivery of staff development.

What do students want? Opportunity to make friends Pre-induction information Learning involved – will they cope? Benefit of the course Flexible induction programme to fit around other commitments i.e. family, jobs Research undertaken by Nottingham Trent University / University of Bradford Research undertaken by other UK HEIs suggests an induction programme should include and consider the following 5 elements: N.B Read all five first and then go back and expand on each one. 1. The Opportunity to make friends In order to facilitate this you could arrange activities such as social networking, icebreakers, small group work and off campus trips. It is worth bearing in mind that an interactive approach rather than lecture format may be the most beneficial. 2. Useful Pre-induction information For example, pre-entry activities involving preparatory learning, early distribution of reading lists, accurate timetables 3. Information about the learning involved – reassurance that they will cope You could have discussions about differences between learning activities that students may be used to and the approach to learning in UK higher education and provide opportunities for students to sample some learning activities, participate in group activities, campus tours, appointment of course reps and their role in providing feedback about the course learning activities. 4. Information about how the course will benefit their future Provide information about graduate employment, graduation, skill developments and the wider benefits of the programme 5. Designed to be a flexible programme induction programme to meet the diverse needs of students Students should be provided with a clear timetable sent in advance, when devising the timetable consider the timings – arrange activities in solid blocks of time to fit around other activities

University expectations of induction Course Handbook Student Entitlements Academic Principles and Regulations Course content and structure Support available Relationship to the University Student Charter (if applicable) Full list available in Operational Guidance for Franchise Delivery Leeds Beckett also has certain expectations about what should be included in a student induction programme. The Course Handbook should be disseminated (and also made available via the partner VLE). The Handbook should be produced using the University template, contextualised to the collaborative setting. The final version will need to be approved by the Link Tutor and submitted to the University (normally by 31 August prior to induction, for September cohorts). The University will hold a definitive version. The induction provides an opportunity to discuss in detail what students can expect from their course, the institution. Indicator 5 of Part C of the UK Quality Code: entitled ‘Information about higher education’ requires that, ‘higher education providers set out what they expect of current students and what current students can expect of the higher education provider.’ The induction programme should provide students with the necessary information about the University’s Academic Principles and Regulations, particularly those relating to Section C: Assessment, Mitigation, Unfair Practice. Students should be made aware of where they can access further information about the regulations. An induction programme will focus on the course content and structure, the teaching and learning methods and what is expected of students. Students should leave an induction session knowing where to go for support, this might include pastoral and welfare support as well as academic guidance. Students will probably want to know what their relationship is to the University and what they can expect from the University. It is important that students understand that they do not have access to the University’s Virtual Learning Environment and that the partner is responsible for the delivery of the course and the provision of appropriate support. Leeds Beckett has its own Student Charter. Your institution may have something similar or may be looking to develop its own. This list is by no means exhaustive; a full list is available in the Operational Guidance for Franchise Delivery.

Student entitlements Induction Feedback Personal tutor External input into course development Clear information about assessment and expectations around feedback Clear information about the course and support available Full list of student entitlements available in Course Handbook template Student Entitlements for collaborative students - a full list is available in the Course Handbook/ (Don’t go through each one but pick on a few key issues, VLE, feedback, clarity of information and support) As a student registered on a Leeds Beckett University programme you are entitled to: Opportunities for on-going feedback on your work and progress towards your assessments in every year of your course.   Participate in a course induction, which will be provided at the beginning of each year of your course. A meeting with your personal tutor once per semester. [All new and first year students will be invited to a meeting with their personal tutor within four weeks of the start of their studies]. A course that has been informed in its development by external stakeholders (e.g. employers, professional bodies). Participate in Personal Development Planning within the context of your course. (Faculty: remove this entitlement for non-refocused courses). Have the opportunity to engage in embedded activities within your course which develop and enhance your graduate employability and lifelong learning. (Faculty: remove this entitlement for non-refocused courses) Receive clear dates at the beginning of each module about your assessment, submission dates, when and how you receive formative feedback on assessment during every module, and how you will receive feedback on marked assessments within the 4 week feedback period. Receive clear and easy to understand information about your course and the services available to you. Be engaged, via your course student representative, in your course review, evaluation and development processes. Normally be given your course timetable no later than four weeks before the beginning of each semester. .

Start of the academic journey Clear expectations Explicit requirements Support during first year Flexible assessment and regular feedback Student success A robust induction programme sets the tone for how students can expect to be supported throughout their academic journey. (University of Bradford) What students appear to want from an induction programme is broadly what they want as a student, in that: A student’s success is dependant on: the provision of clear explicit information about what we expect of them; on-going support, particularly in the first year of study; flexible assessment and regular and robust feedback. It is worth noting that in line with University guidance, students should expect feedback on assessed work within 4 weeks of the date of assessment. Feedback should contain qualitative comments as well as a mark and should enable a student to reflect on their learning and progress accordingly. In the context of franchise, assessment is set by the University but partners do have the opportunity to contextualise assessment tasks to the relevant setting. It is the responsibility of the Link Tutor and the Course Leader to ensure contextualisation does take place as and when necessary. There are materials and resources available to Associate staff on the DEAP module which is housed on the VLE. How as an institution, you engage students in the learning journey is critical to their success.

What is student engagement? The UK Quality Code for Higher Education B5: Improving the motivation of students to engage in learning and to learn independently The participation of students in quality enhancement and quality assurance processes, resulting in the improvement of their educational experience Let’s move onto the third topic of the session: student engagement. QAA states that the term student engagement encompasses two areas: Improving the motivation of students to engage in learning and to learn independently The participation of students in quality enhancement and quality assurance processes, resulting in the improvement of their educational experience Both are underpinned by a desire / will to ensure student success.

Expectation of B5 “Higher education providers take deliberative steps to engage all students, individually and collectively, as partners in the assurance and enhancement of their educational experience” Representation of the student view through formal mechanisms Opportunity to be involved in quality enhancement and assurance The Quality Code, Chapter B5, Indicator7, QAA Indicator 7 of Chapter B5 encourages institutions to take deliberative steps to engage students both individually and collectively, to allow them to fulfil the role of learning partner. Student representation mechanisms provide a structured route to engaging students in quality assurance and enhancement. (You might not wish to add in the following statement depending on the audience). Since the last audit by the QAA of the University’s management of its collaborative provision, steps have been taken to ensure the consistency of student representation across all partners. This includes working more closely with the University’s Student Union to clarify student entitlements and support how student representatives and trained and supported. (CPA action plan, 2011)

Mechanisms for involving students: what might these include? We are going to pause for a few minutes and ask you to consider thinking about / noting down ways in which students might be engaged / involved?

Student engagement Mechanisms for involving students: Questionnaires, e.g., end of module / year Student representative structures Research activities – focus groups Student membership of committees Student consultation events Student involvement in new projects Student dialogue with decision makers Online discussion forums Formal quality processes, e.g., annual monitoring and review, mutual review, periodic programme review

Course reps Sustained strategy of student involvement Importance of the feedback loop One per level per course, nominated by students Improve quality Create a culture of student engagement One of the key enabling mechanisms in engaging the study body is the course representation strategy. Here at Leeds Beckett we would expect one student rep per level of each course. Course reps are fundamental to a sustained strategy of student involvement, whereby student views are collated and presented both formally and informally. It is equally important that institutions demonstrate how they have dealt with student feedback either by making changes or by explaining why changes cannot be made. The collation of feedback becomes meaningless if an institution is unable to evidence how they close (what has come to be known as) ‘the feedback loop’. Course reps have the capacity to improve quality through representing the student voice, informing monitoring and review processes and through playing an active part in how decisions are made to change, adapt and shape a course and the overall student experience. The effective appointment of course reps engenders a culture of student engagement – thus meeting external expectations (QAA) and those of Leeds Beckett

What do course reps need? Access to training and on-going support Regular access to senior staff Mutual sharing of information Information about mechanisms to collate feedback from students Involvement in decision making Ensure students feel rewarded for involvement Being a course rep is a positive and useful experience for a student, however it isn’t always any easy task and an effective course rep structure will ensure course reps are well supported, briefed and aware of their role. The key issues should be considered in the context of supporting student reps: Reps should be provided with a training and development programme – SU Online – open it out to collaborative partners Regular access to senior staff for their own support and informal liaison Mutual sharing of information – ensuring the feedback loop is closed Involvement in committee structure – attendance at AMR meetings Recognising the role they play, ensuring students feel valued and can articulate the part they have played, for example, enable them to recognise enhanced employability skills, CV experience

Additional resources Leeds Beckett Student Union National Union of Students / Higher Education Academy Student Engagement Toolkit Centre for Learning and Teaching Operational Guidance for Franchise Delivery To conclude, you can find additional resources at the following links: Leeds Beckett SU, National Union of Students, CLT and within the Operational Guidance for Franchise Delivery. Furthermore, we have a web page on student induction where you may access: This presentation Previous induction presentations Example induction programmes Exercises that you may want to use at induction including ice breakers A generic presentation that you can adapt with the support of the Link Tutor for your induction programmes. You will be familiar with developing and delivering induction programme, nonetheless, as your franchise partner we would expect any induction programme to incorporate a ‘LeedsBeckettness’; to ensure students are aware of their entitlements as a Leeds Beckett student, relevant regulations that determine how they succeed on a Leeds Beckett course and the opportunities available to them to fulfil their role as a learning partner.

Questions collaborations@leedsbeckett.ac.uk Thank you for listening to / attending this session. If you have any questions, please contact the Collaborations and Partnerships Group on collaborations@leedsbeckett.ac.uk